Her Best Friend's Little Brother and His Big Sister's Best Friend
by thethingthathasnoname
Summary: Just some AU Beremy fluff. Set before Alaric died and Elena turned and whatever the hell else that happened back while everything was normal. My version of how Beremy could have gotten together.


**Her Best Friend's Little Brother and His Big Sister's Best Friend**

Bonnie stood on the Gilbert's door step waiting. She had knocked at least 3 times already but no one was coming. Someone had to be in. Surely. Come on. Anyone. At this moment in time, she would even take Mr Saltzman.

She just couldn't bear being alone any longer. She still hadn't gotten over Grams' death and her dad was barely ever home. So it was just her. She felt a tear slip from her eye and roll gently down her cheek. And at that moment, the door opened. Typical. She sniffed quickly and swiped the tear away. Mentally cursing that pesky tear and her bad timing, she finally actually looked to see who had opened the door. And nearly fell off the doorstep.

It was Jeremy. But this couldn't be Jeremy. Because this was a tall, strong and, frankly, sexy _man_ not some irritating little kid. Who was also half-naked. And giving her weird looks because it was clear she had just been crying on his doorstep and was now staring at him – most specifically, his toned chest and abs. But since when did he get so… big? Focus, Bonnie, focus!

"Er…" she stuttered. Wow, Bonnie, smooth. "Do you always answer the door topless?" Really? That was what just had to be the stupid thought that came out of her mouth. Why was she so tongue-tied around Elena's little brother?!

"Why? Is it bothering you?" He said, grinning, showing all his straight white teeth and lighting up his chocolately brown eyes. Mmmm, that grin, Bonnie internally sighed. And then blushed. Because, yet again, she was gazing at him like an idiot.

"Er, no." Again just showing off your intelligent and well-read vocabulary. There was an awkward pause while he raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at her. She looked away. The awkward silence continued. She had to fill it with something. Quickly. Come on. Something smart. Something witty. Preferably, something that made logical sense. Or just anything. "Why would I be bothered?" Ah. Anything but that. Thankfully, he just laughed.

"You're in a strange mood today, Bon." Bon. No-one had ever called her Bon before. Oh, no, wait. Everyone called her Bon. But no-one else gave her butterflies when they did. So why the hell now? Why him? Before she could dwell on it too much, however, he interrupted her mental struggle.

"Do you want to stand on my doorstep gawking all day or would you like to come in at some point?" he asked. She was tempted to reply with the former, just to tease him. But she honestly didn't think her brain was functioning enough for sarcasm right now so she just nodded and followed him into the house.

He grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his head (_pity_ she thought, before mentally slapping herself), messing his hair up in the process. "I'm afraid Elena's out and she's probably going to be out for the rest of the day." When she didn't respond, he raised his eyebrow again (_damn those eyebrows_) and continued. "And so is Mr Saltzman if that's who you were looking for."

"Er." Seriously? After the whole of GCSE English she was still unable to find a better sentence starter than "er"… Gee! "No, I wasn't looking for Mr Saltzman. Or Elena. Just, sort of, found myself here."

"Ah, cool. You want something to drink? Eat? You know where most of the stuff is right? Do you want me to leave you to it?"

"No." Oh, so, now she was quick to respond. "I mean, er, no, um, please… stay?" Why did that come out as a question? That wasn't supposed to be a question. She wasn't supposed to depend upon Jeremy like this.

"Er, sure thing, Bonnie." And now she'd weirded him out. Great going, Bonnie, just great. "Look, if something's up, you know you can tell me right?" _Not when you are the problem._ "I know you still think of me as Elena's little brother…" _if only you knew how completely not true that had just become._ "But I am actually human as well." _And a very fine specimen of human you are too. _"And consider you my friend," _great, friendzoned. Wait, did she not want to be in the friendzone?!_ "So you don't need to bottle it up and act all weird like this." She could feel his intense gaze on her and slowly raised her face from where she had been glaring, murderously at the hem of her shirt. Their eyes locked; him looking questioningly and supportively into her mind, her trying desperately not to show anything on her face. She imagined she must look something like a startled, constipated deer. Overall, not the impression she was going for. Then something happened. It was like a spark of electricity literally crackled from her eyes to his. She squealed and hurriedly looked away. He sighed "Ok, I'll sort us out some drinks. I feel like you need to chill." He stood up and moved past her. Then at the last minute ducked back and whispered, dangerously close to her ear "I don't bite, I promise."

Bonnie whirled around but he was already moving away to the fridge. She watched him fetch orange juice and move around the counter to the cupboard where they kept the glasses. Her eyes followed him as he reached up, though he really didn't need to reach far, and his t-shirt rode up. He turned as he fetched the glasses down and she caught another glimpse of that beautifully toned stomach. She literally had to tear her eyes away and force herself to focus on breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In, out, in, out.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You sound like Darth Vader." _Oh brilliant… now I can't ever breathe right around him…_ "You're not hyperventilating, are you? Oh, god, you're not ill or sick or something?" he sounded so concerned. He rushed over and put his hand to her forehead as if checking for a fever.

"Jeremy!" she exclaimed, pushing his hand away and half-laughing. "I'm fine." He gave her a questioning look and she continued, sighing. "Just feeling a bit emotional at the moment."

"You know, I'm here for you." He gently caught her hand as she brushed it away from her forehead. Her breathing hitched and she was pretty sure her heart skipped a beat. "As I said, I am a person. Not just Elena's brother. Do you want to talk about it?" she considered it for a second but then figured she didn't really want to be a downer and there wasn't much to talk about that she hadn't already been through; her dad and Grams and all that. Well apart from the whole Jeremy issue but there was no way in hell that she would talk to him about that. So she shook her head. "Come on, then, let's cheer you up!" he grinned again. Seriously, that grin. It was just so beautiful. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was happy. Ew. So wet and gushy. What was happening to her? Either way, she couldn't help but return a small smile back.

They grabbed their drinks and he led her up the stairs. And into his room. At the threshold, she stopped. Hesitant. Unsure. She had never been in his room before, only seen glimpses of it when she was heading to Elena's.

"What's the matter?" he asked, already sprawled on the bed.

"I've just…" she shrugged. "Never been in your room before."

"Ah. First impressions, huh? Don't worry; it's ok to be nervous. But it won't judge you if you don't judge it. Wish I had tidied it up a bit though." He muttered and started chucking things into the corners of the room or under the bed. She couldn't help but giggle. Ergh, again with the wet and girly. He looked up and smiled. She managed to not get distracted again. Very nearly. "That's more like it." He laughed and offered his hand to her. "Miss Bennett, if you would like to accompany me, it would be an absolute pleasure."

"Ah, Mr Gilbert, the pleasure is all mine." She laughed and took his hand to help her onto the bed. His hand was firm and strong yet soft and nice all at once. He moved it away far too soon.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked when she was comfortably seated against the head of the bed while he lounged on the rest.

"I dunno." She let herself look around the room, taking in all the posters and books and photographs. Her eyes came to rest on his bedside table where a sketchbook lay open. She couldn't see much but from what she could see, it was pretty good. "Hey, I never knew you could draw." She reached for it.

"Er, not very well. I mean, er, do me a favour and don't look at that, Bonnie. It's not worth your time." She looked over to see him blushing. So, naturally, she adopted her most mischievous smile and continued for the book.

She picked it up and he dived for it. Twirling it nimbly between her fingers, she switched hands and he lunged for it again. Missing, he tried a different tactic. He grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him so she was now lying on the bed holding the book against the wall above her head. He placed one hand beside her head and stretched for it. He was positioned directly above her and her arms were shorter than his; she wouldn't be able to keep it away from him much longer. She wrapped her legs around his waist trying to keep him back. He squirmed a bit and she realised something… he was ticklish. She pinched his stomach fleetingly with her fingers making him twist and crease, releasing a yelp of laughter. And removing his hand from its quest towards the book.

"Oh, so that's how it is, is it?" he quirked an eyebrow tauntingly and squeezed her side suddenly. She squealed and curled up protectively. He took this as a signal to attack and soon a full blown tickle war was unleashed between the two, the book forgotten.

The war was like a kind of dance; them twisting around each other, always finding new ways to get to the other's sensitive spots. Finally, they found themselves in, looking back on it now, a rather compromising position. Bonnie was straddling Jeremy trying to pin his arms down while he lay on the bed trying to keep her arms away from his and his stomach. Her hair was messed and her eyes were bright and wild with the widest smile lighting up her whole face.

Jeremy was suddenly struck by how beautiful she was and had to blink and shake his head a bit to clear these thoughts before things got a bit too intense. She must have felt this change in him, this moment of realisation shown by the relaxing of his body. Her eyes met his and there it was again; that electric spark flickering in the air between them. Their breaths were heaving. Neither could bring themselves to look away.

Then, Jeremy's phone rang. Simultaneously, they jumped; breaking the eye contact and sitting back awkwardly, only now realising the position they were in. Bonnie tried to move and just ended up falling back onto him making her blush and mumble an apology. Jeremy gently took her waist and lifted her off of him (_when did he get so strong?_) and picked up his phone.

"Hello?" he asked warily. There were many frantic, apologetic noises from the other end of the phone and Jeremy sighed. This was going to be a long one, Bonnie could tell.

She rolled towards the edge of the bed. Looking down, she found the sketchbook, fallen open to a page of a drawing of a face. It was his own face. But not. Because this face was contorted, blank and downright ugly. Was this really how he saw himself? Where was the 100-watt smile? The lights in his gorgeous eyes? The faint blush dusting his strong cheekbones?

Listening carefully, she could still hear the noises coming from the end of the phone and Jeremy's occasional hum of either agreement or disagreement or just non-committal noise. She reached for it and picked it up, climbing back onto the bed with it. As she was just lifting the corner to turn the page, she felt a presence behind her. Jeremy. Had he been watching her while he was on the phone? She focused her mind and realised she could feel what he was doing. He was slowly stretching out his right arm, evidently trying not to alert her to his movements. Too bad. Just as he was about to make the killing strike, she stood up on the bed, leaving him kneeling sheepishly, arm still outstretched.

Unfortunately, he adapted quickly to this new turn of events (_probably had to do that quite a lot recently_) and stood up too. She turned and began trying to move to the head of the bed where she would have protection from the wall when he did something completely unexpected. He wrapped one arm around her, pulled her flush against his body and, casually, lifted her up. She shrieked, not anticipating that. Seriously, when did he get so strong? He froze, then coughed and hurriedly started trying to explain the shriek to the person down the phone. Halfway through his explanation, he realised that he was a) still holding a struggling Bonnie in the air and b) she still had the sketchbook. While he was explaining, he carefully positioned the phone between his ear and his shoulder, using his now free hand to simply pluck the book from her grasp. Like she hadn't been putting any effort in at all. He must have been holding off in that tickle war because she was pretty sure that he could pin her down within moments and still be able to hold this conversation on the phone. Now he had the book, he put her down and retrieved the phone. Who was he even talking to? Bonnie listened intently for a couple of seconds and immediately recognised Elena's babbling. Oh. Awkward.

She leaned back against the wall, still trying to listen to the conversation but failing, Elena was just talking too darn fast. Like she always did whenever something bad happened and she felt like she needed to explain absolutely every detail so that she didn't feel so guilty about it. Bonnie loved her best friend, but sometimes she just needed to know when enough was enough. Judging from Jeremy's face, he was of the same opinion.

Now that she had looked at him, she couldn't seem to look away. Seeing as he was distracted by this phone call, his eyes unseeingly locked on an object to her right, she let herself explore his face; the defined curve of his jaw bone, the piercingly melting, chocolate eyes, the imperfect perfection of his hair. Then her eyes travelled down, taking in his whole body; the way his t-shirt clung to his muscled arms and chest (which she had seen with her own eyes _mmm_), the manly delicacy to his long, nimble fingers, the toned legs and… nope, don't go there… oh, too late… and could she just say: damn. She couldn't seem to stop, noticing every detail that somehow she had managed to miss before. How had she not noticed when someone she saw practically every day had gotten this hot?! She traced his body with her eyes as she slowly drew them back up to his face. To find his eyes staring straight back.

"I was just… er…" she blushed. She couldn't believe he had just found her blatantly checking him out. Why was she being such an embarrassing fool today? He signalled for her to be quiet and indicated the phone. Was Elena seriously _still _talking? Either way she needed to do something to stop this awkward moment. So she resorted to her teasing, noticing the sketchbook still in his hand, and made her way towards it. Calmly, he simply raised it above his head sending her a challenging quirk of the eyebrow in the process. She reached up aiming for the book. And realised she simply couldn't reach. Was she really that small? No. She was a reasonable height. He was just incredibly tall. Like when had this happened? She tried again, even resorting to tiptoes. But nope, nothing. The book was still miles above her. She stretched up, determined to reach the book. But even more determined not to use him for support. Her stupid pride. Always ended up making a fool out of her. She was standing full on tiptoes reaching up with all of her body. And she was so, so close. Just a bit further. Just a tiny little bit. She pushed herself onto the very tips of her toes. And lost her balance, falling clumsily against the solid mass of body before her.

She felt a hand on her hip, steadying her, but she couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes. She refused to let this get awkward. There was only one solution that could stop her awkwardness and that was getting the sketchbook. She had tried reaching, stretching, even tiptoes and she still wasn't anywhere near. And so she jumped. Her fingers brushed the edge. Success! And the bed was so bouncy that if she focused she was sure she could get much higher. Just as she was about to try again, however, a hand slid around her waist, holding her in place. Jeremy pulled her right against his body in a sort of embrace; one hand holding her there the other in the air with the book. She struggled but he didn't even pause in his conversation with Elena to fight her. He was so strong; it was like he didn't even need to put any effort in at all. So she relaxed into it. Let the arm around her support her as opposed to pressing against her. She felt it slide down so it was resting on the small of her back. With one finger just brushing her ass. So she let it. And let her face nuzzle into his neck. This was bad. Awful. Absolutely horrible. Because she liked being held by her best friend's little brother.

After what seemed like far too short a time, she heard Jeremy saying goodbye and hanging up. He removed his hand from around her waist to take the phone from his shoulder where it had been nestled. Darn it. Their eyes met and an agreeable silence hung over them.

"You ok there?" he whispered and she wondered if there was more to that question than a simple inquiry as to her health.

"Yes, perfectly ok." She replied.

"Do you really want to see the sketchbook that badly?" his eyes travelled over her face, trying to read what she was so desperately trying to hide. That no she didn't really want the sketchbook. She wanted something that would take her mind off of him. And something that would enable her to get near to him without downright saying it. Wait. No. Not that last bit. Definitely not. A distraction. Distraction, Bonnie, distraction.

"Yes." She said simply.

"Well too bad." He said sticking his tongue out. She laughed.

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"Well, I have other ideas."

"Do tell."

"Hmm and ruin the surprise?"

"I'd like to see you try whatever it is you're planning."

"Ok then."

"Come at me." He stuck out his tongue again and she pounced. Figuratively. Because all she did was stand there. But in her mind she was pouncing. On the book. Not him. Though she would very much like to pounce on him. No. No, she wouldn't. Anyway, book pouncing. Focus, Bonnie. Focus. Suddenly, the book was wrenched from his grasp by her mind and was delivered to her hand.

"Boom!" she exclaimed, pleased that it had come off so well.

"Ah… I'd forgotten about that slight… advantage." He grinned. "But you see, sadly, I don't have any of your witchy tricks. And so I just have to resort to…" he paused and a wicked smile played with the corners of his mouth. "Brute force." And he pushed her up against the wall, pinning her hands with his hands. And her body with his body. Their faces were inches away from each other; so close that she could see his pupils dilating. They both took a few deep breaths just revelling in the moment and their close proximity. Then he grabbed the book and stepped back.

"I win." He said though his voice very nearly broke.

This was getting too weird. They needed to cool it. Seriously. But he couldn't help but notice how hot she looked with her hair wild and messed and her eyes bright and fierce. No he could help it. And he would. This was Elena's best friend. He had known her for forever. This was Bonnie.

"Do you want to watch TV?" she offered. Thank god. This was normal. This he could deal with. Watching TV and chilling with Bonnie while Elena rushed around doing something.

"Yeh, sure." They went downstairs together, leaving the sketchbook and the drinks and the stifling sexual tension up in the room. Well, most of it. They settled down on the sofa and started watching some film or the other. It was all going fine; there was comedy, there was action, there was suspense. But neither of them could focus on the show - they were far too alert as to the others movements. Every time one of them had so much as an itch, the other was on edge. And then the end of the film rolled up, coming to the big, emotional climax. The villain, pointing a gun at the goodie, is rabbiting on about some evil plot that is somehow so radical and understandable to him. So cliché. Then, the gunshot is fired but the goodie's father figure, role model person jumps in front of the bullet and drops down dead. And, suddenly, Jeremy felt Bonnie's hand clasp his. He glanced at her and saw her eyes glistening with tears. Gently, he slid his arm around her shoulders. At first, she went rigid and then she slowly began to relax into it, leaning further into his body. His arm slid down to around her waist and she grasped it with hers. This was something else entirely from what was going on upstairs. Upstairs it was all raging hormones and teasing and light hearted fun. But this. This was comforting and embracing and… loving.

The credits started panning across the screen and neither of them had moved. Neither of them wanted to move. But they had to.

"Bonnie…" Jeremy began but, just then the door swung open and Elena and Ric walked in.

The pair leapt apart like an electric shock and both started trying to talk at the same time before realising that they just looked incredibly suspicious and simultaneously shut up. Luckily for them, Elena was preoccupied with Ric and only noticed once he was safely inside and not going to go on another rampage.

"Oh, hi, guys. Hey Bonnie." She smiled, oblivious. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much. I was just bored at home so I thought I would come round here." Bonnie replied, trying to be casual.

"And you've been hanging out with Jeremy?!" Elena laughed. "Poor you…" she poked Jeremy in the ribs and he batted her hand away grumpily.

"No, actually." Bonnie interrupted. A little too quickly, she might add, but she couldn't help herself. "I've had a really great time." She grinned.

"Ah, wow!" Elena laughed. "Glad you guys can actually get along. You're welcome to stay for dinner." Bonnie was about to protest and say that she could easily go home now that the family had arrived. But then she figured, she'd been round for dinner loads of times. What made this time any different? Just because Jeremy and she had had some sort of connection didn't mean she wasn't still Elena's best friend. Plus she couldn't face going back to her empty house…

"Yeh, I think I will thanks. Need a hand?"

Dinner went pretty normally. Elena prepared it with help from Bonnie. Ric hovered nearby on his laptop trying to sort History stuff. And Jeremy lounged on the sofa/chair/any furniture possible to lounge on and watched, occasionally chipping in with conversation or comments. They sat round the table and ate, peacefully and without incidence, and afterwards Jeremy offered to clear away.

"I'll help too." Bonnie offered, wanting to be a good guest. Jeremy had already cleared most of the plates but she found him unloading the dishwasher. "May I?" she offered.

"Be my guest," he replied, with a grin. They worked in smooth harmony for a few minutes before Elena and Ric came and joined them. It was getting a bit cramped in the small kitchen area and Bonnie was insistent to be as helpful as possible. She was trying to put away plates in a high cupboard but she was not as tall as the Gilberts (and Ric). She knew she was stubborn and adamant and rarely liked to ask for help, and this was one of those times where she knew she ought to but she just couldn't bring herself to. She was on her very tiptoes when Elena brushed past her and she wobbled. Not much, but enough for her to panic. She swerved the plates to the side, managing to hold onto them, but not entirely managing to get back to stable status. She let out a little squeak. Immediately, Jeremy saw this dilemma and rushed forwards, grabbing around her waist to keep her upright and securing the plates with the other hand. She fell against him, desperately, blushing like mad.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, trying to get back upright. Clumsily, she fell back against his chest. Teasingly, he lifted her so her feet couldn't touch the ground. She glared at him, her face now resembling a glowing tomato. She snatched the plates away and firmly planted her feet on the ground again. "I can do it…"  
>"Sure, you can." He replied grinning. "Look, it's fine to admit that you're shorter than the rest of us. I could see you were having some problems earlier with the sketchbook…" he trailed off and stuck his tongue out. Trying to ignore him, she reached up again. Jeremy looked at how much she was wobbling about the place and sighed. He stood behind her, slid one arm around her waist and used the other one to help her lift the plates into the cupboard and close it. She whirled on him.<p>

"I said I could do it." She glared.

"Yeh but you couldn't really, could you." He tilted his head slightly, mockingly.

"If you'd given me the chance…" she began.

"You would have smashed the stack of plates…" he interrupted.

They hadn't noticed quite how small the kitchen was. Or how close they had been when she had turned on him. Or how little a gap there was now between their faces. Their lips. But now they did. And simultaneously, they started breathing quicker, their mouths dry. Jeremy initiated it; he slowly started to lean in, to close the gap. Lost in the other's eyes, they had completely forgotten where they were. And who was with them. Ric and Elena, standing a little way away at the other end of the counter, were staring, eyes wide. What the hell was happening? Jeremy? And Bonnie? Together? In their kitchen? WHAT?


End file.
